Monday, Jul 17, 2017

The Uberdivide

Interesting ride with an Uber car. I asked whether he also drove for Lyft. No, he said, when I had been driving for 3 months for both companies I had a Lyft customer who went on and on how she’ll never use Uber, because they support Trump. They are all for Trump, and she’ll never use them.

Well, my driver explained: I decided if that’s what Lyft is about, then I’m going to drive for Uber. Partisanship even in the ride business!

The Upper Inner Thigh

Bicyclists complain about the bike seat rubbing them raw in the upper inner thigh. Well, the same happens on a motorcycle if you ride long enough in the heat. So I did some research before taking off. An amazing volume of literature exists on the topic. There is DZ-Nut cream for the male customer, which “tingles like hell,” I was assured by a bicycle rider. Then there is Bag Balm, a cream created for the udders of frequently milked cows. I’m starting my chafe, but I can’t decide which to choose!

Language Traps

Turns out that one trick to help with the chafing is to use bicycle shorts under your armor when riding a motorcycle. Padding you inside the shorts is a chamois. Now, for years and years I thought that this word was pronounced like “Le Rois, c’est moi! Alors donnez mois ma chamois!” I did not notice that I never heard anyone talk about this piece of leather that I understood was great for washing wind shields.

Turns out the word is pronounced entirely differently in America. As in:

“Oh, little girl, did your ice cream slide off the cone onto the pavement where a dog has just gone? What a shammy.Here, let me buy you a new one. What, your Mommy won’t let you accept ice cream from a stranger? Well, then you’re out of luck. Here’s a chamois for your tears.

Can you believe the pronunciation of a word so perverted? Though admittedly it’s hard to imagine even a California car mechanic calling to his colleague:

The Art of Photography

Let’s compare the photo of the Web site of my Saint John Travelodge with a photo I took there:

Much like the establishment’s Web site photo, though taken by me.

And here with the camera just a bit to the right of the building. Same on the other side.

Go ahead, enlarge the lower one to get the full effect.

In contrast tonight’s Harborview Inn in Digby, Nova Scotia:

Frontal View

A bit further away…

Inside…

And the room…

Everything beautiful. Large grounds. Used to be that wealthy families summered here. The rooms in the house were initially for servants, then later for ‘transients’ like me, who staid just for a few nights.